A method for treating a treatment site (106) within or adjacent to a heart valve (108) within a body of a patient includes the steps of generating energy with an energy source (124); receiving energy from the energy source (124) with an energy guide (122A); positioning a balloon assembly (104) adjacent to the treatment site (106), the balloon assembly (104) including an outer balloon (104B) and an inner balloon (104A) that is positioned within and at least partially spaced-apart from the outer balloon (104B) to define an interstitial space (146A) therebetween that is configured to retain a balloon fluid (132); and positioning a portion of the energy guide (122A) that receives the energy from the energy source (124) within the interstitial space (146A) between the balloons (104A, 104B) so that a plasma-induced bubble (134) is formed in the balloon fluid (132) within the interstitial space (146A).

A histotripsy therapy system configured for the treatment of tissue is provided, which may include any number of features. Provided herein are systems and methods that provide efficacious non-invasive and minimally invasive therapeutic, diagnostic and research procedures. In particular, provided herein are optimized systems and methods that provide targeted, efficacious histotripsy in a variety of different regions and under a variety of different conditions without causing undesired tissue damage to intervening/non-target tissues or structures.

A treatment system for debriding a treatment area of a tissue site and applying negative pressure is disclosed. In some embodiments, the treatment system may include an ultrasonic bubble generator fluidly coupled to a negative-pressure source, fluid source, and a dressing. Fluid may be drawn from the fluid source to the ultrasonic bubble generator, whereby micro-bubbles and ultrasonic waves may be generated in the fluid before the fluid is instilled to the dressing.

A kit comprising: a urinary catheter comprising a first and a second longitudinal lumens; an ultrasonic transducer disposed about said catheter; a balloon mounted on said catheter, and enclosing said transducer; and a reservoir containing an acoustic coupling medium, wherein: said catheter further comprises a first opening in said first longitudinal lumen, said first opening disposed inside said balloon and configured to inflate said balloon with at least some of said acoustic coupling medium, said catheter further comprises a second opening in said second longitudinal lumen, said second opening disposed outside said balloon and configured to deliver a therapeutic fluid into the urinary bladder, around said balloon, and activation of said transducer in said urinary bladder causes cavitation bubbles to form in said therapeutic fluid adjacent an internal surface of the urinary bladder, and little or no cavitation bubbles are formed in said acoustic coupling medium in said balloon.

The present disclosure relates generally to thrombectomy devices. An exemplary catheter comprises: an emitter assembly comprising at least one emitter; wherein each emitter comprises an electrode pair, and wherein each emitter is configured to generate a plurality of cavitation bubbles when a voltage is applied to the pair of electrodes; an infusion lumen formed by at least a portion of an outer wall of the catheter, the infusion lumen configured to receive a conductive fluid, wherein the emitter assembly is housed within the infusion lumen, wherein a distal segment of the infusion lumen includes a plurality of holes on the portion of the outer wall of the catheter, and wherein the plurality of holes are configured to release the conductive fluid and the plurality of cavitation bubbles out of the catheter to treat thrombus at a treatment site; an aspiration lumen including aspiration ports at the distal segment thereof.

A therapeutic apparatus for therapeutic ultrasonic treatment of a tissue region that contains a flowing liquid has at least one ultrasonic source and a control unit for activating the ultrasonic source in order to radiate ultrasonic pulses according to a pulse parameter set into the tissue region. The therapeutic apparatus has a measuring system configured to determine a flow velocity of the liquid and a focus control system configured to move a focus region of the ultrasonic pulse relative to the tissue region over a longitudinal portion. A movement direction of the focus region therein corresponds to a flow direction of the liquid and a movement velocity of the focus region corresponds to the flow velocity.

A histotripsy therapy system configured for the treatment of tissue is provided, which may include any number of features. Provided herein are systems and methods that provide efficacious non-invasive and minimally invasive therapeutic, diagnostic and research procedures. In particular, provided herein are optimized systems and methods that provide targeted, efficacious histotripsy in a variety of different regions and under a variety of different conditions without causing undesired tissue damage to intervening/non-target tissues or structures.

A histotripsy therapy system configured for the treatment of tissue is provided, which may include any number of features. Provided herein are systems and methods that provide efficacious non-invasive and minimally invasive therapeutic, diagnostic and research procedures. In particular, provided herein are optimized systems and methods that provide targeted, efficacious histotripsy in a variety of different regions and under a variety of different conditions without causing undesired tissue damage to intervening/non-target tissues or structures.

A dual-mode ultrasound system provides real-time imaging and therapy delivery using a transducer array. The system may use various imaging modes to provide image data that may be used to select control points within an imaging field of view. The control points along with the image data may be used to solve an optimization problem to achieve desired focusing gains at one or more of the control points. The optimized solution may be used to produce excitation waveforms to generate new image data. The focusing gains may be evaluated and the optimization problem may be iterated until desired focusing gains are achieved. Virtual arrays may be defined and cascaded to provide flexibility in solving the optimization problem.

Methods for performing non-invasive thrombolysis with ultrasound using, in some embodiments, one or more ultrasound transducers to focus or place a high intensity ultrasound beam onto a blood clot (thrombus) or other vascular inclusion or occlusion (e.g., clot in the dialysis graft, deep vein thrombosis, superficial vein thrombosis, arterial embolus, bypass graft thrombosis or embolization, pulmonary embolus) which would be ablated (eroded, mechanically fractionated, liquefied, or dissolved) by ultrasound energy. The process can employ one or more mechanisms, such as of cavitational, sonochemical, mechanical fractionation, or thermal processes depending on the acoustic parameters selected. This general process, including the examples of application set forth herein, is henceforth referred to as “Thrombolysis.”